66 Interesting Facts About Scotland

Scotland has diverse and dramatic landscape. Scottish people are vibrant and enthusiastic, well educated, motivated and skilled. With these 66 interesting facts about Scotland, let’s learn about its history, culture, people, traditions, economy, inventions, tourism, and some amazing things.

Historical facts

1. Scotland has many untouched and pristine islands. Built even before the Stonehenge or the Pyramids, Skara Brae, in the Orkney islands is known as “Scottish Pompeii”, for its extraordinary preservation of a medieval entire city.

2. The other jewel from the medieval world is the Knap of Howar, which is oldest preserved stone house in northern Europe.

16. To love the national dish of Scotland, you have to love the sheep very deeply. The notorious Haggis, which is a nightmare for vegans, is made with the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep and then boiled in the animal’s stomach.

17. The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is considered as Scotland’s highest Chivalric order.

18. 30th November is the National Day of Scotland, the St Andrew’s Day.

19. Scottish breakfasts are one of the best hangover treatments. It spot-on traditional breakfast includes Scottish style black pudding, Lorne sausage, baked beans, tattie scones, poached egg, toast and English tea or coffee.

20. Some call it ear-torture and some sway and dance to its rhythm. Scotland’s national instrument is the Great Highland bagpipe, which forms the heart and soul of Scottish culture.

21. The next cultural masterpiece of Scotland is the Scottish kilt, which is a knee-long single piece skirt-type garment.

22. The most powerful historic hero of Scotland is William Wallace, who began a revolt against King Edward I of England.

23. The two great bards of the Scottish language are Robert Burns (aka ‘Rabbie’ Burns) and Sir Walter Scott. They produced epic volumes of literature and poems, widely famous even today.

24. One of the largest performing arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh International Festival, attracts over 300,000 people annually.

Flag of Scotland

Scottish Flag. Image credit – flags.net

Scotland facts for Kids

25. The world’s first color photograph, that of a Tartan Ribbon, was taken in Scotland.

26. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, was born and brought up in Edinburgh.

27. The most dramatic experiment of the 21st century happened in Scotland. The first successfully cloned lifeform, Dolly the sheep, was created in a lab in the University of Edinburgh. It was a very powerful and watershed moment in our understanding of the life on earth.

28. Thanks to Scotland, the world today knows a lot about antibiotics. Born in Scotland, a pioneer of modern medicine, Sir Alexander Fleming, is credited with the discovery of penicillin. It saved millions of lives and earned him The Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945.

29. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is a gala affair, hosted every august during the Edinburgh Festival. Audiences get a great dose of local culture and awesome bagpipes music.

Map of Scotland

30. Paris may be the city of love, but the remains of St Valentine remains at Glasgow’s Blessed St John Duns Scotus.

32. The different clans are recognized by the pattern of knitting in their kilt. Not kidding.

33. Scotland is all about mythical creatures. The local folklore is washed with stories of elves, spirits, fairies, ghosts, monsters Goblins and mythical beasts, giants, etc.

34. With so much to enjoy around, ghosts seem to love Edinburgh. The city is a top haunted destination in Europe and there is a whole tourism niche developed around it. Check out the Mackenzie poltergeist, to start your Scottish ghost adventure.

Weird and amazing facts

35.Right is left for Scottish drivers. There is a popular car sticker in Scotland which goes like this: “Left alive. Dead right”.

36. Hard-core science enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the legend Sir James Clerk Maxwell, founder of modern electromagnetism, was born in Scotland.

37. If you hate jet lags, take the Loganair flight from Westray to Papa Westray, which happens to be the world’s shortest commercial flight. The distance is 1.7 miles and it will take you less than a minute to reach your destination.

38. Red is the new normal in Scotland. At least 40% of local Scots have the red hair gene in their DNA. Scientists believe it’s due to the lack of sunshine.